ACCEPT ONE ANOTHER
Romans 14:1 - 15:13

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bounded set

centered set

Jew-Gentile Dilemma

• How do Jews and Gentiles maintain unity when there is real cultural offense that takes place?
• Dietary laws
• Sabbaths/pagan holidays

Romans 14

• Who are the weak and strong?
• What is the real problem?
• What does Paul instruct [see vs. 13, 19]?

Weak and Strong

Weak	Strong
“Not convinced in their own minds” (14:5)	“Convinced in their own minds”
Attitude of judgment and condemnation (14:3)	Attitude of scorn and contempt (14:3)



The weak in faith have no self-confidence. They depend on the external boundaries and the strict observance of rules. They are not differentiated from others so that the actions of others threatens their own faith. They depend on precedent.
The strong are more flexible and creative.

The Real Problem

1. Quarreling and prejudice.
2. Disagreement without respect and forbearance.
3. Refusal to see how God has accepted others.
4. Presuming to judge for God.

   Who are you to judge another man’s servant? It is inappropriate. James 4:11-12, Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

The Stumbling Block (14:13)

• Causing another to act contrary to his/her conscience is the stumbling block
• The strong limit the practice of their convictions for the sake of weak

  There’s a difference.

Meaning for Us

• Do not take advantage of being “the weak.”
• Weak not allowed to judge others
• Scandal is real not imagined – not borrowed trouble
• Not about “what others will think”

  Paul would never imagine a situation in which someone actually took advantage of being the weaker party. No one would admit to that. Whenever we can articulate our weakness to a situation we have actually proven ourselves strong enough to be convinced in our own mind. There’s a difference between making my brother stumble and making my brother grumble.
  It is not right to assume that those who are further right are okay and those who diverge from a more conservative stance are okay. We can always fellowship to the right is not a sound principle. It is based on the notion that the more exclusionary and limiting that you are, the more righteous you are. That’s Pharisaical game-playing.
  We cannot avoid growth and fellowship because of imagined or hypothetical stumbling blocks. There is no end to imaging the problem of appearances and what others think. Jesus encountered the problem of perceptions – Matthew 11

• Peace and Mutual Edification – a positive principle to guide us
• Will we destroy God’s work for the sake of purity or personal opinion?
• Jesus was crucified because he was judged

  Paul is giving us a positive principle to guide us. Instead of worrying about what not to do, we can focus on what we should do. Replace the watchdog mentality with an inspirational mentality. We can kill the weeds or we can make the grass grow.

Romans 15:1-13

1. The strong should strive to be righteous and not just right
2. They should help the weak grow stronger
3. Christ is the model of behavior for all
   – Did not please himself
   – Accepted you

Romans 16:25-27

All of our praise rises to the One who is strong enough to make you strong, exactly as preached in Jesus Christ, precisely as revealed in the mystery kept secret for so long but now an open book through the prophetic Scriptures. All the nations of the world can now know the truth and be brought into obedient belief, carrying out the orders of God, who got all this started, down to the very last letter.
All our praise is focused through Jesus on this incomparably wise God! Amen!

Chris Benjamin

West-Ark Church of Christ, Fort Smith, AR
Evening Sermon, 15 March 2009

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